Brand New Bike - 1st Oil Change

[rlambke19]

On 12/25/2023 at 8:41 PM, Hamilton Tracer said:

Speaking of shop manuals, do we have an PDf file on this forum?

Hey there - message me with your email address and I will sort you out re: shop manual.

Also, are you in Hamilton, ON? If so, did you buy your bike at Kelly's?

Cheers 

Edited December 27, 2023 by rlambke19

[2and3cylinders]

I do use quality Japanese change like like the DID ZMX or whatever. And still i'm disappointed

Again, I'm using a 520. But I don't think it should make that big of a difference. Considering race bikes with a lot more horsepower use five twenty chains

Last time around, I didn't replace the sprockets. As they look good, they are the super light steel front and rear. So I don't know what's going on

[OZVFR]

2 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I do use quality Japanese change like like the DID ZMX or whatever. And still i'm disappointed

Again, I'm using a 520. But I don't think it should make that big of a difference. Considering race bikes with a lot more horsepower use five twenty chains

Last time around, I didn't replace the sprockets. As they look good, they are the super light steel front and rear. So I don't know what's going on

Did you string line the bike to check alignment or did you use swingarm markers

Only ask because I found my one was half a marking out.

A straight edge on the rear sprocket would also show if your sprockets are out of alignment as opposed to the wheels.

I also had a 520 on my VFR with no ill effect.

 

[2and3cylinders]

7 hours ago, OZVFR said:

Did you string line the bike to check alignment or did you use swingarm markers

Only ask because I found my one was half a marking out.

A straight edge on the rear sprocket would also show if your sprockets are out of alignment as opposed to the wheels.

I also had a 520 on my VFR with no ill effect.

 

If you review my prior related posts in this thread, I stated I'm a bit OCD with chain tension and sprocket alignment.

I replaced the OEM chain adjusters long ago with  micrometer click type units, use a spring-loaded chain pretensioner tool, initially eyeball alignment with the Motion Pro rear sprocket clamp & rod tool modified with a rod 2.5 times longer, then check side to side parity with a vernier caliper and a Profi L-CAT magnet mount laser alignment tool.

But otherwise I'm somewhat lackadaisical about chain tension and alignment. 😵‍💫

[bwringer]

17 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I do use quality Japanese change like like the DID ZMX or whatever. And still i'm disappointed

Again, I'm using a 520. But I don't think it should make that big of a difference. Considering race bikes with a lot more horsepower use five twenty chains

Last time around, I didn't replace the sprockets. As they look good, they are the super light steel front and rear. So I don't know what's going on

This may or may not be applicable experience, but... over on the V-Strom forums, the V-Strom DL1000 (not the 650) is well-known to enjoy far greater chain life (at least half again, and often double) with an upgrade to 530 chain from the stock 525. This held true, and I experienced it myself, even when the 525 and 530 chains were the same series from the same manufacturer.

As it happens, 530 chain works fine on a DL1000 is quite easy since there's enough space for the wider bits, and the sprocket spline and bolt patterns are the same across many Suzuki models.

The DL1000 has about 100 horsepower, it's an L-twin (big chunky power pulses), and it's a heavier bike than the FJ-09/Tracer.

520, 525, and 530 chain have the same pitch, but each is 1/8" wider than the former. But when going from 525 to 530 on that bike, there was indeed a profound difference in chain life thanks to that extra 1/8" and beefier chain. Many owners did this with excellent results.

On the DL650, I don't know that anyone ever tried 530 chain. It wasn't needed; with a quality 525 chain, DL650 owners enjoyed outstanding chain life.

 

On the FJ/Tracer, the bike has more power than the DL1000 and is somewhat lighter. The stock 525 chain from Yamaha is well-known to be rather marginal, and is routinely shagged at 15-20,000 miles. The much higher quality EK ZVX3 525 chain I installed when I got the bike at 21,000 miles is still showing zero wear and has needed no adjustments at 43,000 miles.

Here's a comparison; these are both indeed 525 chains, but the EK is visibly MUCH better made. I tend to get "ooh, shiny" gold chains to encourage myself to keep the chain a little cleaner than I might otherwise.

 

It's not clear whether an upgrade to 530 on the FJ/Tracer would make any sense or is even possible (some clearances are actually rather tight with the beefier EK above), so I just installed a much higher-grade 525, and so far I've been very pleased, and I anticipate many, many more miles.

As to a 520 chain, it would stand to reason that a narrower, lighter chain might not last nearly as long as the 525 on a 115-ish HP bike. I know for a fact that the chain width makes a big difference the other way on a somewhat different bike, and I don't see why it wouldn't be the same on this bike, or others with similar power levels.

Edited December 28, 2023 by bwringer

[2and3cylinders]

I may go back to a 525 next change. And I use the same EK and RK DID they're all comparable.

[Ride365]

I am shocked the FJ9/Tracer doesn't come stock with a 530, agree that anything over 100 hp could benefit from a 530 over a 525. I am one of the lucky ones not having issue with the stock chain, I am about to hit 17K miles and the chain/sprockets still look/perform surprisingly good. 

[betoney]

2 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I may go back to a 525 next change. And I use the same EK and RK DID they're all comparable.

I am not sure if tensile strength is directly related to chain life but if you are currently using a DID VX3, they also offer a 'stronger' ZVM-X2

DID Chain 525VX3 Pro-series chain is perfect for any 600cc to 1000cc motorcycle. The 525VX3 chain offers longer life than the previous DID 525VX chain. The DID525VX3 is a great chain for bikes like the CRF1000 Africa Twin , Suzuki GSXR750 and DL1000 and BMW F750/F850GS.

- Available in gold or natural finishes
- Average tensile strength rated at 9,220 foot pounds
- Rated for use to up 1000cc

DID chain newest 525 ZVM-X2 chain is the ultimate street chain and is rated to 1300cc. Meets the demands of our current high-power, large displacement street bikes. This is one of the strongest 525 chains on the market. This chain make a great upgrade versus the stock chain on bikes like the ZX-10R, BMW S1000RR and Ducati V4/1199/1299 models.

- GOLD finish
- Includes one RIVET style master link
- Average tensile strength is 10,408 foot pounds
- Weight 4.85 pounds per 100 links
- Manufacturer rated to 1300cc's

[OZVFR]

I think the 520 to 525 chain wear might have more to do with the 520 sprockets as they have a lot less surface area to work with.

So maybe wear on the sprockets even though they look good, might be stuffing the chain.

Again, I had no problem going to a 520 on my VFR which had comparable HP with more weight.

Or it might just be a 2and3 thing, wearing out due to extreme maintenance 😆

Anyway, we have hijacked this thread I think.

Edited December 29, 2023 by OZVFR

[ZigMerid]

On 12/27/2023 at 1:59 AM, bwringer said:

Zig has had mostly very positive experiences, and so the expense is well worth it. Apparently the Yamaha pros in Australia really are pros

Your balanced opinion is a good one. I will only clarify that my experience with the official service departments of dealers has been crap all round - for multiple brands. My positive experiences have all come from independent shops who live and die by word-of-mouth. I agree that I am super lucky to have not one but two good indie shops within range and I completely understand that there are plenty of places where that is not the case.

Edited December 29, 2023 by ZigMerid

[ZigMerid]

13 minutes ago, ZigMerid said:

independent shops who live and die by word-of-mouth

As an aside, as a consequence of this thread, I was contacted by another member on this forum who lives not far from me. They had not heard of either of the shops that I use and were looking for a good mech, so I punted them in their direction. I hope it works out for them.

Yeah, I could have kept it a closely guarded secret because they are both super busy, but isn't that attitude just sending business back to a crappy dealer? Why would anyone do that?

Edited December 29, 2023 by ZigMerid